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Cloud · head to head

Cerebrium vs Fastly

Cerebrium logo

Cerebrium

Cloud

Serverless GPU infrastructure for real-time AI inference and applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fastly logo

Fastly

Cloud

High performance edge computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cerebrium free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency; Fastly bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe
  • They diverge on capability: Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Fastly covers Edge Compute.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cerebrium and Fastly actually diverge.

Attributes where Cerebrium and Fastly differ
AttributeCerebriumFastly
Pricing modelFreemium with monthly plans and per-second compute chargesusage-based
PlatformsCloud, DockerWeb, Api
FoundedUnknown2011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cerebrium

  • Ultra-fast cold starts
  • Elastic scaling
  • Bring your own code
  • Multi-region failover
  • WebSocket and streaming
  • Asynchronous jobs
  • CI/CD with gradual rollouts
  • OpenTelemetry integration

Only in Fastly

  • Edge Compute
  • CDN
  • DDoS Protection
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Image Optimization
  • Video Streaming
  • API
  • Instant Purge

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cerebrium

  • Deploying voice agents and conversational AI applicationsnot Fastly
  • Video and image model serving with low latencynot Fastly
  • LLM inference and completion endpointsnot Fastly
  • Real-time embeddings and vector database operationsnot Fastly
  • Distributed model training with hyperparameter sweepsnot Fastly

Fastly

  • Serving static and dynamic content through a global CDNnot Cerebrium
  • Running edge logic and caching in front of an origin applicationnot Cerebrium

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cerebrium

  • Free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard plan at $100/month required for production deployments
  • Per-second compute pricing requires continuous cost monitoring
  • Storage costs add up for large model files

Fastly

  • Bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe
  • The same traffic therefore costs more than twice as much depending on where the audience is, which is invisible until the bill arrives
  • The free allowance is 100 GB of bandwidth and 1M requests a month
  • Requests are billed separately from bandwidth, at $0.01 per 10,000 above the first million
  • High volume rates past 50 TB are not published and require contacting sales

Pricing, plan by plan

Cerebrium

Free
  • HobbyFree
    • 3 user seats
    • Up to 3 deployed apps
    • 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard$100/month
    • Unlimited seats and apps
    • 30 GPU concurrency
    • Custom domains
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Unlimited resources
    • Volume discounts
    • Dedicated support
  • GPU Compute$undefined/per-second
    • T4: $0.000164/s
    • H100: $0.00167/s

Fastly

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • CDN
    • DDoS protection
    • Real-time analytics
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • Usage-based pricing
    • Advanced features
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Cerebrium if

  • You need ultra-fast cold starts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Docker.
  • You also want elastic scaling.
Cerebrium review

Choose Fastly if

  • You need edge compute.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want cdn.
Fastly review

Questions people ask

Is Cerebrium or Fastly better?
Neither clearly leads. Cerebrium starts at Free and Fastly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cerebrium or Fastly?
Cerebrium starts at Free and Fastly at Free.
Does Cerebrium or Fastly run on more platforms?
Cerebrium runs on Cloud, Docker. Fastly runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Cerebrium for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cerebrium best used for?
Cerebrium is most often used for deploying voice agents and conversational ai applications, video and image model serving with low latency, llm inference and completion endpoints, real-time embeddings and vector database operations. Of those, deploying voice agents and conversational ai applications and video and image model serving with low latency are not what Fastly is typically brought in for.
What can Cerebrium do that Fastly cannot?
Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Elastic scaling, Bring your own code, Multi-region failover. Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cerebrium: Is Cerebrium only for inference or can it train models?

Cerebrium supports both inference serving and model training with hyperparameter sweeps. It enables deployment of voice agents, LLMs, video models, and other AI applications.

Source
Fastly: Does Fastly charge based on usage or a flat monthly fee?

Fastly operates on a usage-based model with volume discounts. They offer a free tier with 100 GB bandwidth and 1M requests for experimentation, then customers pay per unit consumed with tiered discounts as consumption increases.

Source
Cerebrium: How do the cold starts compare to other platforms?

Cerebrium achieves 2-4 second cold starts through memory and GPU snapshotting, significantly faster than traditional 30+ second cold boots. This is competitive with platforms like Beam Cloud.

Source
Fastly: What are Fastly's main service packages and their costs?

Fastly offers Network Services Packages ($1,500-$6,000/month baseline), Security Packages (custom pricing), Compute Packages ($500/month entry level), and Observability Packages ($1,500/month entry level). Enterprise solutions include custom quotes for high-volume deployments.

Source
Cerebrium: What compliance certifications does Cerebrium have?

Cerebrium maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance, HIPAA certification, GDPR compliance, and ISO certification. It provides gVisor container isolation and configurable data residency for regulated workloads.

Source
Fastly: Can I start using Fastly for free?

Yes, Fastly offers a free tier with generous allowances for experimentation including 100 GB bandwidth and 1M requests. You can start building free and only pay when you use additional resources.

Source
Fastly: Are there surprise overage charges with Fastly?

Fastly advertises predictable pricing with no surprise overages. The pricing structure is designed to be transparent as consumption grows.

Source
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